WE NEED TECH TO IMPROVE WORK PRODUCTIVITY

Most of us would have started a new job with the mentality of adding value to our company. However, truth is that we often spend more time handling mundane administrative work than doing actual work.

A Ministry of Manpower (MOM) study shows that Singaporeans clocked an average of 45.6 hours a week from January to September last year. Which brings us to the fact that we clock an average of 2,317.2 paid hours a year; a figure higher than ‘overtime masters’ in Japan and South Korea.

In terms of productivity, another study by Unit4 showed that white-collared workers in Singapore are the least productive in terms of time spent on their primary job function; only 60 per cent of their time were spent on primary tasks while global average stands at 72 per cent.

These workers further identified the amount of time they spent on specific administrative tasks that prevent them from focusing on their primary duties. They are as follows:

Manually collating and entering data – 30 per cent

Tracking their project status – 26 per cent

Handling invoices – 20 per cent

Submitting their expenses and planning travels – 11 per cent

When asked if they would trust technology to manage repetitive tasks, 83 per cent of these office workers said they would.

This means IT and cloud apps should be embraced. However, the 2015 ACCA report shows that the average expenditure on IT for a local SME is only 2.5% of its budget. We live in an era where smart devices have become one of our life essentials and we depend on them for information; so why are we still so conservative when it comes to adopting new technologies?

Singapore’s economy comprise almost 99% of SMEs. Hence, if we want to move the country forward, it is important for SMEs to employ the right tools to drive growth and productivity.

Placing our data on cloud, be it for personal or work, means that we can get access to information anytime and anywhere – even across different devices.

Today, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is replacing expensive and time-consuming on-premise applications and software. IDC also predicts that by 2020, SaaS will have a 25% higher penetration rate than traditional software.

One particular HR and payroll software in Singapore, QuickHR, has changed the HR scene in Singapore. The newest cloud-based HR software player in town include modules that has automated traditional HR functions such as leave, claims, payroll, generating of reports and more.

Not only can cloud-based software allow companies easy access across various smart devices, it can potentially bring down the number of people in the HR department working on admin work and allow more focus on other important aspects such as employee training or building a strong company culture.

With just a few mouse clicks, we can now automate tasks that required hours of our time. The technology to revolutionize traditional office processes is already available. So what are we waiting for?